Who Is Arthur Pasecinic? Portrait of a Romanian handpan player

Have you recently heard a song played on the handpan by Arthur Pasecinic? Or maybe a melody blending Zeyla Tomlyn’s voice with the sound of Pantam Dance, the project led by Arthur Pasecinic? Want to learn more about this Romanian artist and percussionist?

I discovered this artist by chance just a few months ago while listening to one of his compositions on YouTube. That led me to dig into his career, and I can now walk you through Arthur Pasecinic’s journey.

In this article, you will learn:

• Who Arthur Pasecinic is and how he fits into the Romanian music scene
• His active role in the handpan community through his group Pantam Dance
• His key discography milestones

You’ll discover everything you need to know about this artist. It’ll help you connect more deeply with his work by understanding the full scope of his creative approach.

Now, let’s take a closer look at Arthur Pasecinic’s career.

Who is Arthur Pasecinic, the handpan player from Romania?

Arthur Pasecinic (sometimes spelled Artur in some Romanian sources) is a Romanian multi-instrumentalist based in Bucharest, Romania. From a young age, he dove into music first as a drummer, then by exploring other instruments such as the violin, piano, flute, and Indian sitar. In 2017, however, he focussed primarily on handpan after discovering this percussion instrument. From that point on, he fully dedicated himself to the handpan, which he considers his “study instrument.”

In 2019, he founded the group Pantam Dance alongside fellow musicians Catalin Stroe and Sofian Miron. The project blends electronic music—especially upbeat, dance-driven rhythms—with the handpan’s distinctive acoustic character. Over time, as EPs and albums were released, Catalin Stroe and Sofian Miron gradually faded from the project, making room for vocalist Zeyla Tomlyn, who weaves her voice into the warm, mellow tones of Arthur Pasecinic’s Hang drum. Their most popular track remains “Butterfly,” which has racked up tens of thousands of views on YouTube:

Over time, Pantam Dance evolved into a duo. As of this writing, Arthur Pasecinic’s discography with Pantam Dance, as a duo with Zeyla Tomlyn, includes several albums, including Dreamer (May 27, 2024), Sunrise (November 11, 2022), and Sunset (December 1, 2021). Singles have also been released, mainly Whispers (March 25, 2022), Butterfly (May 28, 2022), and Pana cand nu te iubeam (November 4, 2022).

Alongside his production work, Arthur Pasecinic appears at many music festivals, such as the UNITER 2022 gala, the Smida Jazz Festival, the Jazzar Jazz Festival, FFIR 2022, and the 2025 edition of the Unfinished festival, where he shared the stage with actress Corina Ciontu. He also occasionally leads workshops, passing on his knowledge so aspiring percussionists can benefit from expert guidance. He collaborates with other artists as well, such as sitar player Victor Marius Beliciu and multi-instrumentalist Mircea Ardeleanu.

Explore new musical horizons with a wonderful handpan

From drums to metal vibrations, Arthur Pasecinic skilfully blends Romanian heritage and electronic music in a career that’s clearly far from over. With what you’ve learned in this article, you now know much more about the path of this rising artist.

That said, Arthur Pasecinic’s sound is also tied to the quality handpans he plays. If you’d like to explore similar tones, I recommend choosing a model from the Instruments du Monde store. You’ll find dozens of handpans, each as inspiring as the next, like this 9-note model tuned to the Amara scale—a gentle scale that invites a calm, reflective mood.

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Just like Arthur Pasecinic, there is another relatively unknown but very talented handpan player named Taylor Sol. This artist from New Zealand has chosen to create gentle melodies designed to promote auditory relaxation. In my opinion, he is part of a new generation of excellent percussionists who play the handpan to perfection.